Guitarists /Songs that Inspired/Influenced Me – Part One

This week’s Imagmusings blog is a personal piece from the Director of IMAG Music Malcolm Clench on guitarists and songs that have led to his lifetime love affair with guitars.

A true story, I grew up in a house at the bottom of Tyler Grove on Temple Hill Estate in Dartford in Kent. Nothing remarkable about that apart from our family home was about 50 yds from Keith Richard’s home on Spielman Road. It would be fabulous to be able to recount how Keith and I met a discussed music in Dartford Technical High School (DTHS) (same school) or the 7thDartford Scout Troop (same Scout Troop), but he is just that little bit older than me. So, the only time our paths ever crossed was, after the Stones had broken, when they all pulled up in a Rolls Royce to visit his dad and my only abiding memory is of my elder sister saying as they got out “Aren’t they all Ugly!”.

In reality my interest in learning guitar started with George Harrison’s - “My Sweet Lord” where a slightly drippy song is saved by Harrison’s slide guitar work. This was the also first record I bought. 

My memory has faded as to how the first guitar I had was obtained, but it was a Kay Kansas acoustic (Figure 1) with a tail piece and floating bridge that was, despite the prices they now fetch, pretty unplayable. The second was also a Woolworth’s Kay brand, a K520 dreadnought acoustic in red (Figure 2). This I took to “The Guitar Club” at DTHS where the Chemistry Teacher Mr Ridley gave hints and tips on playing and I learnt to play.

Electric Guitars were calling to me with their promise of girls, fame, money (and more girls). So a further trip to Woolworths inspired by Derek and the Dominos “Layla” resulted in the purchase of a Kay ET200 Electric (Figure3). Routing around in the bargain records rack of “The Pop Shop” on Temple Hill Square I came across “The Blues World of Eric Clapton” and in truth I’ve been trying to emulate the guitar sound of “They Call It Stormy Monday” ever since. My latest purchase is a NUX Morning Star blues breaker emulator to use with my Tele so it has not gone away. Layla was also the cause of an argument between 13-year-old me and Mr Daly (Art Teacher) as to whether it or Roxy Music’s “Virginia Plain” was the best record in the charts. Now looking back over 52 years I can see the point he was trying to make but he was of course wrong !

A brief period of heavier sounds was inspired by my elder sister’s boyfriend Andy who got me into Black Sabbath (Tony Iommi) and Robin. However, I was still listening to even more obviously blues influenced rock. Paul Kossoff’s playing on All Right Now and Wishing Well but in particular “Come Together in the Morning” where he makes the guitar sound like a cry of despair has stayed with me always.

To be continued.